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Stirling Clansmen
The Stirling Clansmen are one of the stalwarts of the BUAFL Northern Conference, Scottish Division. The Clansmen joined the league in 1986, and have gradually improved themselves from a series of 1-win seasons in the early 1990s to winning their first College Bowl in 2003. History 1984-85 The University of Stirling was one of the first two universities in Scotland to develop an American Football programme, beginning in 1984. The Clansmen played their first game in 1985, when they defeated the University of Strathclyde Hawks 12-0. In their first two years in the BCAFL, the Clansmen made the playoffs, the second year winning the Scottish Conference regular season crown. Both times, however the team lost the playoff opener. 1994-95 Stirling struggled for half a dozen years to regain the success of the early seasons, only once winning more than two games. In 1994-95, it looked as though the Clansmen might have turned the corner, as new coach Paul Poppa led the team to the best record in five years. However, Coach Poppa retired after the 1995 season and the Clansmen withdrew from active participation in the League for one year, forced by a mass graduation of the playing staff. 1995-96 For the 1995-96 season, team president Mark Brember arranged a temporary merger with the Strathclyde Hawks coached by Steve Livingstone of the Scottish Claymores fame(NFL Europe). A small band of Stirling players contributed greatly and the result was a Scottish Division title and excellent experience for the returning players. A player that stood out was Russ Nehmer, an American student that transferred from the US, completing his degree at Stirling Uni. He would convince the League Officials that Striling would build a competitive team for the future! 1996-97 Early in 1996, new team president, Russ Nehmer, launched himself into the task of restoring the Clansmen to the top of the League. The team was reformed in its' own right and Nehmer secured excellent sponsorship deals in addition to regenerating the teams resources. An excellent recruitment campaign throughout 1996 has given the Clansmen a fine squad of new players. A slow start to the 1996/97 season was attributed to many players' newness to the game. However over the campaign, the team improved dramatically and managed to qualify for the Northern conference Plate Competition. 1997-98 For the 1997/98 season, Russ Nehmer took on the official role as Head Coach, in addition to playing and being the club's president. Despite a strong recruiting drive, the 97/98 Clansmen squad failed to win a league game until the end of the season. The Stirling team never realised their potential despite some magnificent individual efforts, football being indeed a team game. The Clansmen lost several games in the final seconds and this, coupled with their tough schedule resulted in a 1-5-2 record. The high came against Strathclyde in February when Stirling showed themselves a glimpse of what could have been, defeating the Hawks 34 points to 6. 1998-99 Russ Nehmer had left the Team after the 1998 season for the NFLE Europe. Allister Scott took over as Head Coach and Team Captain. He also played while being coach and the team seemed to settle in well with this idea. Structure and ideas of the previous seasons were developed further and the Clansmen started to evolve. Despite a slow start into the season this season was to turn out exciting and more successful than previous ones. After having lost to Glasgow the end of the season saw a decision in the last game. Who would be Scottish Champion was to be decided in the game Clansmen vs. Strathclyde. If the Clansmen were to win they would be No. 1 and if they were to lose Strathclyde and Glasgow would pass them to make the latter Scottish Champions. The game ended 16:0 to Strathclyde to make Glasgow Tigers No.1. The mark that Nehmer left on the team would fortunately carry them for the next 10 years. Sponsors, finance, new equipment, University support, fans and a name for the team to help with recruitment of new players for their future success. 1999-2000 Having lost many good players after the 98/99 season, the season 1999/2000 required a lot of effort in building the team around new people. With Allister Scott still as head of the coaching staff the team took the challenge. The season set off promising and the new players did their best to live up to their predecessors of previous years and succeeded. The combination of experience and fresh enthusiasm made the team stronger than ever before. The Defence managed to shut out most teams while the Offence brought in a record number of points. Having lost only to Glasgow it, again, came down to the last game against Strathclyde. A win over Strathclyde would make the Clansmen Scottish Champions, while a loss would give Glasgow the win again. What followed was a breathtaking and extremely exciting game that was finally won 14:12 by The Clansmen to become Scottish Champions 1999/2000! 2000-01 The 2000 season was predicted to be a tough one with strong English side, the Lancaster Bombers switched to play in the Scottish division and very strong opposition provided by Strathclyde and Glasgow once again. The season got underway well and at Christmas the Clansmen had a 2-1-1 record. After the break the Clansmen kept in the hunt for a second successive Scottish crown taking the season to the last game, away at Hull. Here, they knew that a win would secure a second title but in really unfortunate circumstances the Clansmen lost 24:0 and Glasgow's game was cancelled, leaving both teams with 4-3-1 record. However the Clansmen were gutted as their head to head record with the Tigers (0-2) meant that Glasgow took the title in the closest BCAFL division and the Clansmen had to settle for second. This gave them a place in the Northern Plate competition held in Leeds after the end of the regular season and they didn't disappoint, winning the final against Leeds and adding the Plate to their trophy cabinet. 2001-2009 The season started off with little hope of winning, as 90% of the Scottish championship winning team from the previous season had graduated or left. Therefore, it was a rebuilding season. The Clansmen weren't expected to go very far. The season started badly, with losses to fellow Scottish teams Paisley and Edinburgh, as well as championship-favourites Newcastle. The season then went to 0-4 when the Clansmen came up against Teesside, however, it was felt that with a bit more luck and some better decisions on the field, the Clansmen could well have had a record of 2-2 or even 3-1. The first win of the season came against the Northumbria Mustangs, where the score finished 36-14. The Clansmen eventually though, lost their final game to Glasgow in a close fought match, with Caley forfeiting and the clash with Sunderland drawn. 2010-2011 The season started with a good showing in preseason by the Clansmen with the team hopeful to carry the momentum through to the regular season. The season began well away to the UWS Pyros where the Clan ran out 20 - 6 winners after an interception return sealed the win late in the game. Another away game awaited the Clan in the form of Teeside Cougars. A hard fought game resulted in the Clan winning 20 - 14 due to several defensive stands. The Clan moved to 2 - 0 and the preseason buzz seemed justified but at this point the season began to change. A series of postponements meant that the Clan had to play two double header games againts the Napier Knights and Edinburgh Predators that finished as 33 - 6 and 8 - 0 defeats of the Clansmen. This changed the complexion of the season as the double header rule moved the Clan to a record of 2 - 4 rather than 2 - 2. The Durham Saints were next up at home for the Clan and the team delivered against their North English rivals and ran out 40 - 0 winners. To finish the season the Clan played their rivals the Glasgow Tigers at home to salvage a .500 season record. The Tigers being already crowned Border Conference champions arrived in high spirits and too an outsider this could be justified as the Clans starting QB and RB were out for the game. However, the Clan ran the ball with Zake Muluzi behind a heavy offensive formation turning the game into a slugfest. The Clan scored TDs with Muluzis running ability but the Tigers were able to keep up for most of the game until a screen was taken to the house and gave the Clan the lead. The Tigers pushed for time to scored took to airing the ball out and their defeat was sealed by an interception in the dying moments of the game to seal a 24 - 18 win for the Clan and a respectable 4 - 4 season. 2011-12 The new Clan season began in high spirits due to the final game of the previous season. As like the previous season the Clan began against the UWS Pyros, However, unlike the previous seasons encounter the Clan ran out 90 - 0 winners. The next game brought the Napier Knights to Stirling with the Clan wishing to make amends for last seasons 33 - 6 defeat. The Clan scored at will in the first half but slowed later in the game to run out eventual 55 - 0 winners and move to 2 - 0 on the season. The 3rd home game in a row brought the Edinburgh Predators to the Clans doorstep. The game was marred by heavy rain and neither offense could get going but the Clan used their Jet offense to great effect and won 21 - 0. The Clansmen then travelled to the Glasgow Tigers and in a reverse of the previous seasons result the Tigers defeated the Clan 20 - 0 with the Clans offense failing to capitalise on their redzone trips. The UWS Pyros were next up for the Clan and the offense found its form again and put up 58 points while the defense became solid again posting another shutout to go to 4-1. Next up where the Predators again and this game had playoff ramifications and the Clan started at full tilt and quickly went up 14 - 0 but a defensive miscue and a special teams calamity gave the momentum back to the Predators and levelled the scores at 14 - 14. However, an interception return the length of the field by the Clan gave them back the lead and they finished the game with a rushing TD to make the score 26 - 14 and give the Clan hopes of the playoffs. The final two games of the seasons for the Clan weren't as close as the previous one as they ran out comfortable 42 - 8 winners against the Northumbria Mustangs and 68 - 0 against the Durham Saints and finished the season 7 - 1, with a playoff berth and a Scottish Championship within the Border Conference. The Clan welcomed the Loughborough Aces to Stirling and hopes were high of a shock result for the Clan but the Aces playoff experience shone through and they defeated the Clan 42 - 6 and ending the Clansmens season prematurely. 2012-13 The season began with a realignment of the conferences due to BUCS involvement with BUAFL and the Clansmen found themselves in a new Saltire Conference. The Clansmen and Edinburgh Predators made British football history by participating in the first ever BUCS associated game in BUAFL. The Clan began strong and ran out to an early lead that they maintaned the whole game despite a pair of Predator interception and TDs. The Clan won the first ever BUCS game 68 - 12. Next up the Clan welcomed the Tigers to Stirling with visions of revenge for last seasons defeat and the Clan didnt disappoint. The Clans new aerial attack found its groove against the Tigers and complimented the Jet Sweeps of running backs Isdale, Bicker and McDowall and hard nosed running of Muluzi to give the Clan a more varied offensive look. The defense also continued its shutdown tradition and allowed the Clansmen to defeat their bitter rivals in 100 - 7 by preventing the Tigers moving the ball and posting a score of their own. The Clan used the momentum gained from the Tigers game to defeat the Napier Knights and Edinburgh Predators 56 - 0 and 72 - 7 respectively behind their potent offense and sturdy defense. Moving to 4 - 0 on the season. Further postponements led to a double header with the UWS Pyros in Paisley. The Clan overcame the loss of Ty Larsen by ejection to win the first game 48 - 0 and the second 32 - 0 and moved to 6 - 0. The Clan moved swiftly to 7 - 0 as the Napier Knights forfeited leaving the Glasgow Tigers standing in the Clansmens way of an undefeated season, The Tigers wishing to avenge the defeat earlier in the season started poorly on offense by giving away an interception to Fraser Neill that was returned for a TD. The early score settled the Clans nerves and allowed them to run out eventual 54 - 0 winners and finish 8 - 0 and undefeated. The postseason brought last years BUAFL runners up Birmingham Lions to Stirling. The game was played in blizzard conditions despite it being March. The Clan scored early due to a long rushing TD by Isdale but the Lions replied quickly. The Clan took the lead again through a passing TD to Craig Black from Luis Stephenson and would have stretched their lead further if not for a refereeing decision going against them that denied a clear TD by Muluzi as the ball was placed at the 1 yard line. The resulting goalline stand gave the Lions momentum into the half. The second half resulted in the Lions starting to show their playoff experience and they eventually went into a 20 - 17 lead by the 4th quarter. The Clan scored a field goal with only a minute remaining to tie the game, however, the Lions drove down the field and scored in the dying seconds to finish 27 - 20 winners and put the Clansmen out at the first stage once more. Team Records by Season External links *BUAFL *Stirling Clansmen Official Site Category:BUAFL teams